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Races
Below are a list of the humanoid races in the world of the Witcher, all of which can be used to create characters within the RP: Witchers A witcher (or hexer) is someone who has undergone extensive training, ruthless mental and physical conditioning, and mysterious rituals (which take place at Witcher Schools such as Kaer Morhen) in preparation for becoming an itinerant monsterslayer for hire. Geralt is said to be one of the greatest witchers; he is certainly legendary, but whether famous or infamous is more open to interpretation. Taken in as children, witchers-to-be are subjected to intense alchemical processes, consumption of mutagenic compounds, and relentless physical and magical training to make them dangerous and highly versatile against their vast array of opponents, many of which possess superhuman speed, strength and/or other deadly powers. These procedures ultimately mean that each fully-trained witcher is a mutant built specifically to hunt and kill inhuman prey. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Humans Humans are the dominant racial group on the Continent, forming the majority of inhabitants in both the Northern Kingdoms and the Empire of Nilfgaard. When humans first arrived on the already-populated Continent, they quickly set about conquering the lands already inhabited by elder races. The humans thus established themselves as the dominant race and so elves, dwarves, gnomes and halflings are now generally referred to as nonhumans. Hailing from a destroyed world, humans first appeared in this world after the Conjunction of the Spheres. The Dauk and Wozgor peoples settled on the Continent at some time before the Nordling culture. Scholars speculate that the Empire's native inhabitants hail from a human culture predating those dominant in the North. Humans and elves are not terribly dissimilar in appearance. Roughly sharing a similar size, elves have pointed ears, smaller teeth and tend to be more delicately featured. Humans also do not live as long (by far) as elves The humans are at war with elves in particular and have a rather poor relationship with the dwarves, halflings and gnomes. The races do live together in the cities, however the non-humans are forced to pay a levy just for being non-humans. Several pogroms have taken place in the cities. Many of the larger human cities were built on the ruins of elven cities which the humans had burned down; cities like Vizima and Novigrad, to name only two. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Elves Elves are one of the humanoid races that inhabit the Continent. Forming a major part of the Elder Races (along with dwarves and gnomes), those known as Aen Seidhe came to the Continent on their white ships much earlier than humans, but later than the other Elder Races. They live much longer than humans and are usually very attractive. Elves are capable of interbreeding with humans (thus producing half-elves and quadroons) and dryads. Though elves are incredibly long lived, only young elves are fertile, thus elven populations tend to reproduce at a slower rate than humans. Like other nonhumans, elves are often persecuted by Nordlings. Because of that, many elves were members of the Scoia'tael guerillas allied with Nilfgaard during the empire's invasion of the Northern Kingdoms. In return, Emperor Emhyr var Emreis gave the elves a state of their own in Dol Blathanna and made Enid an Gleanna its queen. Elves believe that they were created, unlike humans, who evolved. For this reason, some elves consider humans to be little more than hairless apes. Aside from Aen Seidhe, there exists another group of elves called Aen Elle that inhabits another world. Characteristic features of elves include pointed ears and small, identical teeth without cuspids (canine teeth). Elves tend to be very tall and lean, and due to their longevity often appear youthful. Elves are often considered attractive by humans. Like humans, Elves choose to wear a variety of different clothing styles, although Scoia'tael are known to favor furs and hides, particularly those of squirrels and other forest dwelling creatures. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Half-Elves A half-elf is a child of a human and an elf or of two half-elves. Half-elves inherit characteristics of both their parent races, but are treated with distrust and often contempt by both elves and humans. A human with ¼ of elven blood is called a quadroon. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Dryads Dryads, called Aen Woedbeanna in Elder Speech and Eerie Wives by the Rangers, are the female inhabitants and guardians of the Brokilon forest. They are known for their amazing archery skills (they can easily kill a human from the distance of 200 feet), as well as their love for the trees, forest and music. Dryads mark their borders with arrows, if an arrow lands at your feet, that's as far as you were allowed to travel alive. Dryads tend to keep their borders near rivers so that the people they kill will wash away with the current and take the stench of decay with them. Dryads are also proficient in treating wounds, from cracked ribs to concussions. They look like normal, pretty, young girls. They wear clothes that make them hard to spot in the forest and paint their bodies to make themselves even less visible. They have skills unique to their race such as shaping trees with their will and moving without making any sounds. At night they create makeshift glowsticks by stimulating certain fungi and crafting a wreath out of the plant to make a light source, Dryads abhor fire as it harms the forest. They do not eat dinner, whether this is out of strict dieting etiquette to maintain their health or otherwise is unknown. Dryads are exclusively female and use human or elven males only for mating, taking strong males to pass their traits onto their children. They sometimes raise normal, human children as dryads, even though they do not possess all the skills of real dryads. They are sometimes also called nymphs. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Dwarves Dwarves are one of the humanoid races. Together with gnomes and elves they are called the Old races, and along with gnomes they were one of the oldest sentient races on the Continent. An adult dwarf grows as tall as a human male's chest. They are more sturdy than humans, which makes them tougher and stronger. They usually grow long beards. Dwarves are often excellent soldiers, artisans and businessmen. While they tend to be uncouth, they are also jolly and cheerful. The motherland of dwarves is Mahakam. Like other nonhumans, dwarves are often persecuted by Nordlings. Because of that, some dwarves were members of the Scoia'tael guerrilla allied with Nilfgaard during the empire's invasion of the Northern Kingdoms. These dwarves distinguished themselves from their brethren by wearing their beards in plaits. Dwarves are also unqiue in that they are the only known race that are completely unable to use magic, though that has not stopped them from producing some of the finest scholars in Magical Studies and Theories on the Continent. Appearance _____________________________________________________________________________________ Gnomes Gnomes are one of the humanoid races. Gnomes were the oldest sentient race on the Continent and together with dwarves and elves are called the Old races. Gnomes are shorter and weaker than dwarves, but just as tough and more agile. They can be easily distinguished from dwarves and halflings by their long noses. Many gnomes live in Mahakam along with the dwarves, although others inhabit the Tir Tochair mountain range. They are excellent smiths, inventors and metallurgists, with their gwyhyr swords are considered the best in the world. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Halflings Halflings are one of the non-human races. They are between two and four feet tall and their feet are covered with curly hair (they do not usually wear any shoes). They are exceptionally agile and good at fighting with thrown weapons. Their clothing is usually neat and tidy, in bright colours. Some of them, particularly in the Northern Kingdoms, live among humans despite the persecutions, but some others joined the Scoia'tael guerrilla bands. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Godlings A Godling a is rare creature capable of communicating in the common tongue. They resemble a human child, except they have big bright eyes differing in color (blue and yellow have been reported), and pale blue skin. Some godlings are known to tattoo themselves and they wear little when it comes to clothes apart from some adornments. Godlings usually live in woody and swampy areas, and aren't afraid of living close to monsters like drowners. They are easily confused with a bucca or lutin, and be hurt (or killed) by a herb called Burdock. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Higher Vampires Unlike many legends would have you believe, Higher Vampires are not the victims of a blood-sucker who once sired them, but are rather born the way they are, a child of another Higher Vampire. If one is attacked by a vampire then there is no chance that they will return as a night walker; they will die as by any other beast's hand. The biggest misconception about these creatures is that unlike lower vampires, Higher Vampires do not require blood as a lifesource, rather that it is a delicacy to them, much like alcohol or nectar. Many Old Wives gossipings are also naught but fairy tales; these creatures of the night are unaffected by anything from silver and sunlight to running holy water and garlic. While they lack the superstitious weaknesses, they scarily have all of the strengths: superhuman physical strength, stamina, speed and agility as well as enhanced senses and the ability to morph into their true forms, gigantic hideous bat creatures. Easily mistaken for humans, there are very few telltale signs to give away a Higher Vampire, but to the sharp eyed, the evidence is there. They cannot be seen in mirrors or other reflective surfaces and their canine teeth are slightly more elongated than a human's. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Werewolves Werewolves are Lycanthropes, this means that they are shape-shifters, humans which transform due to the result of a curse. These creatures generally hunt near to human settlements. Neither animal, nor man, the Werewolf takes the worst from both species: the bloodlust and primal nature of a wolf, and the ruthlessness and cruelty of a human. One becomes a Werewolf as a result of a curse thrown by a witch -- the change itself is uncontrollable and unwilling. A man who transforms back to his human form can’t usually remember the atrocious acts committed as a werewolf. = _____________________________________________________________________________________ Dopplers Dopplers''' also called shifters, mimics, doubles, imitators or pavrats are shapeshifters who can take the form of anyone or any beast they have encountered. Additionally, they take on not only the characteristics associated with the form they have "borrowed", but also their clothing and equipment. Despite this, they cannot take on the abilities of a being whose appearance they copy. The appearance of their natural form is not well known other than a brief mention that they have a humanoid shape and rather long limbs, noses and tongues. Like most magical creatures, dopplers are vulnerable to silver. Binding them with silver chains will stop them from transforming. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Sylvans A '''Sylvan also called a willower, puck or a deovel, is a humanoid, intelligent herbivore with goat's horns on its head, hairy legs with cloven hooves, and a tail with a tassel at the end. They're exceedingly rare. Sylvans and yakshas resemble men not just in appearance but also in behavior—though it must be said they have adopted more of our vices and weaknesses than strengths. Lazy by nature, they would gladly spend every day in idleness, puffing on pipes, gorging on rich foods and downing strong drinks. Since sylvans and yakshas enjoy partaking of the fruits of others’ labors without asking permission, men do not take to them kindly and at times, fooled by their awkward appearance, will try to solve this problem using force. This often ends in tragedy, for sylvans, despite their corpulent frames, are astonishingly strong and agile. They also emit a powerful and extremely unpleasant scent which can cause even a witcher, whose line of work accustoms him to foul stenches, to gag and feel faint. Watch out in particular for yakshas, which are fiercer and keener on fighting than normal sylvan. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Vran The vran are a humanoid race with red, ruby red eyes that take up half of their faces, scaly skin and venomous fangs which they use to poison their arrows. They were able to ride horses. Some vrans were members of Fregenal's band known as "Koshchey's Men".